Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy was more than 40 minutes into a town hall in rural Iowa when a woman in the crowd posed a pointed question. Or perhaps it was a suggestion.
"I know you want to be President," she said. "But would you consider being Donald Trump's vice president?"
The query drew light laughter from attendees and a lengthy response from Ramaswamy. (The short answer: No.)
It also highlighted the central challenge facing the wealthy entrepreneur, who has risen from little-known newcomer to as high as third in some Republican primary polls since joining the race nearly six months ago. While voters are increasingly interested in Ramaswamy, it's former President Trump who continues to be many conservatives' favorite.
With the first Republican primary debate in just over a week and the leadoff Iowa caucus five months away, he is delicately working to convince more voters that he could be their nominee and — as much as he says he respects Trump — would be a better 2024 candidate and president.
"The debate will be important, but I think also just continuing on the trajectory we've been on," Ramaswamy said after the town hall held in a cavernous welding company workshed in Vail, Iowa. He returns to Iowa on Saturday for the Iowa State Fair, a rite of passage for presidential candidates.
Ramaswamy described the months leading up to the first debate as "just the pre-season."
"So we're entering the regular season of this and I'm coming in with a running start," he said. "That's the way I look at it."
He says his strategy heading into the debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is "speak the truth," pointing to a banner emblazoned with the word "TRUTH" that serves as his backdrop and has become a campaign theme. The word — in all capital letters and a font and that resembles Trump campaign signage — is emblazoned on placards, T-shirts and stickers.
Ramaswamy says he and others cannot trust the government because the government doesn't tell the truth. It was what motivated him, he says, to travel to the courthouse where Trump was to appear on charges earlier this month to announce he is suing the Justice Department and seeking all records the department has with information about why Trump was indicted.
Though such a lawsuit is unlikely to be successful before any GOP primary votes are cast, it was a move that struck a balance between defending Trump and drawing positive attention to his own candidacy, at least among the Republican primary electorate.
"That's what this campaign is already all about, speaking the hard truths, the truth that you might speak at the dinner table, but you don't feel free to speak in public," Ramaswamy told the Iowa audience. If he is elected, he said, people will speak those truths again, such as "God is real" and "reverse racism is racism."
Having just turned 38, Ramaswamy is the youngest person to be a major Republican presidential candidate. Born in Ohio to immigrant parents from India, he earned a biology degree from Harvard University and then finished Yale Law School.
He made his fortune after starting a biotech company, last year founded an asset management firm and is the author of several books, including "Woke, Inc." His books helped Ramaswamy gain exposure in conservative circles, including on Fox News, as a critic of "ESG," or looking not just at profit in investments, but also at environmental, social and governance issues, such as a company's policies on climate. He bemoans that the United States has become a place full of "victims," and says the country has lost its purpose and its focus on faith, patriotism, hard work and family.
On the stump, Ramaswamy is able to wax on issues ranging from digital currency to his stance on Israel, the U.S. Constitution and the civil service rules regarding mass layoffs of federal employees — rules he says he understands better than any other candidate. He is proud of not needing a teleprompter, and his mix of policy specifics and smooth delivery has won over some voters.
"He's a great orator, he has a keen intellect and a lot of knowledge," said Margarite Goodenow, a retiree from Council Bluffs who said she is so far supporting Ramaswamy over Trump. She described the former president as "too toxic" — a position she held before he was indicted in multiple criminal cases — though Goodenow said she will support Trump if he is the nominee.
Ramaswamy says he can use his deep knowledge to accomplish what Trump couldn't and his other rivals wouldn't be able to — laying off 75% of the federal "bureaucracy" in his first term, including 50% in year one.
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Reprinted with permission of the Associated Press
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